How can I find an internship in Australia?

Finding an internship anywhere is a challenge. Add to that the difficulty of distance and a foreign language, and it starts to look impossible. But you can find an internship in Australia. Here are some ideas:

1. Use an internship placement service. For a fee, there are companies that will help you find an internship in a field of your choice.
2. Sign up for an internship + English program. You learn English in Australia for a month or two and then have an unpaid internship, or do the two in parallel with classes in the morning and the internship in the afternoon. We offer this type of program, as do other organizations.
3. Work your contacts. If you’re going to school now, see if your school can help you find an internship in Australia. If you know someone who lives in Australia, ask them for advice.
4. Enroll in a traineeship or apprenticeship program. Most TAFE in Australia offer this option and can help you get a visa for the duration of your training. Apprenticeships are usually in the trades rather than in office work.
5. Study in Australia. With a student visa you can work 20 hours a week, and 40 hours a week on school holidays. Earning an additional degree and doing a professional internship at the same time is a great combination for your CV.
6. Use job sites. Gumtree, Seek, and other job sites have internship postings, but you’ll need a visa, and internship employers usually won’t sponsor one for you. Working Holiday visas are an option if you’re qualified (depends on your age and nationality). Otherwise, student visas allow you to work a limited number of hours (see above), and you can work an unlimited number of hours if your internship is unpaid. Just keep in mind that you have to attend classes as well!

Before you even begin looking for an internship in Australia, however, you should decide what field you’d like to intern in, what part of the country you want to live in, and what your timeline looks like. If you don’t even know these three things, your search will be impossibly broad.  So spend some time thinking carefully about what you’re looking for, then go out and find your dream internship in Australia.